So as you can see, this year was chalk full of memorable moments. I'm so grateful that I'm able to look back and appreciate the opportunities I've been given. And next year is looking to be even better.

I love when an artist's work makes you want to be in their head. When so many things are going on that are so ridiculously creative, and all you can think is "how does someone come up with all this?" That is how I feel about the work of Chiara Bautista.

Stunning lines and whimsical subjects transport you to a world where imagination reigns supreme. And man do I love this imagination. Creepy bunnies, birds skulls and arrows running amok take everything to a slightly depressing level, but in a way I totally appreciate. I can't get over the way she sketching things, angles and curves mixing together to create a figure that is just a little bit unrealistic.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

So apparently, in Victorian England, if a girl refused a kiss under the mistletoe they believed that she wouldn't be proposed to within the next year. Which was a huge deal back then. Also, there are RULES to mistletoe kisses. It must always be on the cheek, and if you do get a kiss you have to take off a berry. Once all the berries are gone, that's it for the night. (More info found in this article here.)

So, armed with your newfound knowledge, I think it's time for you to take advantage of my gift for you to print out... Mistletoe! I've been into this stuff ever since I made my own and hung it up above my table, which you can see in my post here. So I decided to extend the joy to you guys!

I've got two cards that you can print out and use to your heart's desire. Maybe to get kisses from your significant other. Or you crush. Or your cat. Whatever floats your boat.

And a bonus sprig of paper mistletoe to print and cut out and hang wherever you think would be most handy!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The painting below caught my eye and held it there for long enough that I knew I'd be using this for my next inspire me.

This is the work of Jeremy Lipking. I love the texture people create in paintings in oil, and this work is an example to learn from, a practice in layers. Building up and up until he's added a soul to what would usually be a simple realistic capture of a beautiful subject.

And as promised, here is part two! I've been seeing gift guides all over the internet. So here is my contribution... with my own little spin. A gift guide for a few of the biggest fandoms.I won't hit them all (you'll see that I'm missing a wormhole traveling team, and a futuristic dystopian society where they pit kids against kids, for example), but I tried to get some ideas for what I thought were the big six.

If your gift getter flinches around lifelike angel sculptures, or often calls the strange things they are wearing cool (like bow ties, or fezzes), or apologizes by saying that they are "so, so sorry," then this is the section of the guide for you.

If you gift getter has hurt themselves in a lightsaber battle, or ever went to see a midnight showing of a movie that starts with a wall of text drifting off into the abyss, or will argue with you about who shot first, then this is the section of the guide for you.

I hope this was helpful in some way! Be sure to check out Part Oneas well, where I talked about gifts for fans of Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings. I hope whatever you get, you have a very FANtastic Christmas!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Okay, I've been seeing gift guides all over the internet. I really couldn't help getting in on the action, but with my own little spin. So here is my gift guide for a few of the biggest fandoms.I won't hit them all (you'll see that I'm missing two demon fighting brothers, and a brilliant British man with a purple shirt, for example), but I tried to get some ideas for what I thought were the big six.

If your gift-getter looks up every time they see an owl, hoping it will drop a letter, or has dreamed of hanging out in the Room of Requirement, then this is the section of this guide for you.

And if you're more into the DIY scene, have no fear! You could try knitting them this "one ring" scarf, or perhaps this lovely shirt. Or you could just make them this super simple cloakfor their own epic journey! (Yeah, do that one. I'm a firm believe that cloaks should totally come back in style. They're just so cool.)

If your gift-getter flinches whenever the words "red" and "wedding" are used in a sentence together, or often tell you morosely that winter is on it's way, then this is the section for you.
Taking this title way too literally, here's a game. Of thrones. Or boards... or you could see if this guy would make another jaw-dropping RISK Game of Thrones edition. Or maybe you'd just like to get them a set of GoT Lego mini-figs. There's also this super-cute terrarium, but I digress.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

This piece was inspired by my favorite In This Moment song, Beast Within. I love the concept of the beauty also being the beast, and I liked the challenge of creating something that could be both beautiful and fierce at the same time. I also had a lot of fun doing the really ornate background in the Jane piece, so I tried that again.

First time through I sketched this over the course of a day with charcoals while I was on vacation. While I loved the image, I didn't feel like I had done the idea justice, so I started again with materials I was more familiar with.

I still haven't gotten this piece scanned in, so I'm just going to show you the best picture I've got. One day I'll get my scanner working again, and then I'll put up a whoooole bunch of new prints in my shop.

I really like how the background came out, but I have to be honest, I kind of want to try it again. I guess this will be the piece that I'll never be satisfied with. :]

Monday, December 9, 2013

So I was going to do two posts to day (I know, blows your mind, right?), but then I saw that Kehlah Bee from Little Chief Honeybee had posted an awesome post on the artist that I had selected for this week. So I'm just going to leave that link for you here, and move onto the second post idea for today. :]

A couple of months ago I stumbled upon a blog post talking about the Snail Mail Collective. I was instantly smitten with the idea of having another blogger to exchange gifts with, so I wasted no time in signing up. Two weeks later I was introduced to my exchange victim... I mean... partner, Sophia from Sophierocious.

Um... cutest blog name ever, right? And after actually looking through her blog, I realized we had a lot in common. She's into video games and all sorts of nerdy stuff. And she's a Hufflepuff! Too cool. We e-mailed back and forth, and I really enjoyed getting to know her.

When my present finally came I was delighted to get an adorable TMNT postcard and a Starbucks giftcard. But... I have a confession to make... I've never had Starbucks. Crazy, I know. I mean, I went through 5 years of college without stepping into one. Its pretty much unheard of. So I'm super excited to give this gift card a try. Thanks again to Sophia! It was a joy to meet you.

And next time I get by a Starbucks, I'm going to have to pick up a drink. What should I get? Any suggestions?

Friday, December 6, 2013

One of my favorite art purchases so far this year has been this jar of Liquid Leaf that I bought from Wal-Mart. I've been painting it on absolutely everything, haha. Many of my newest warrior girl pieces have gold war paint or a crown or anything that gives me an excuse to make the paper shiny. I was going through my project board for my new house, and I found a pin that I'd pinned a long time ago: this print by oh my deer. I loved it, but I decided I wanted a quote that was more personal, and I knew my new found love would make it simple.

The quote I picked was from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. "I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.'' This is one of my favorite books. The love story between Elizabeth and Darcy is the best, and this quote sums it up quite well.I made sure to line out my paper, using a straight edge to trace out a rectangle that was an inch away from the edge. Then I drew a line every inch down, giving myself guides for writing. Then I sloppily wrote the quote out. I figured if I decided to go for "messy chic" from the beginning, the mistakes wouldn't show up as well.

After I got the words spaced in a way I was satisfied with, I traced over them with the gold paint. I had to go over a few parts, make some parts thicker to hide what wasn't working well. When I was happy with everything, I erased the leftover pencil marks.

It might take a little practice, but I think that this project could be replicated. If you give it a try, I'd love to see your results!

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Every other Wednesday we do an after-school program that's a little more hands on than your basic story hour. We always try to think of an over-arching theme that will tie into our summer reading theme, but this year we were drawing a blank. Until someone said we should do something called the "Library League." We instantly decided that it was too cool not to use.

And for our first Library League program, we thought it would be appropriate to do superhero training. So we rounded up a group of recruits, and put them through the test. First they had to select a costume from our prop box, and put it on inside of a phone booth (which, funnily enough, kinda looks like it could be a time machine as well...)

Then they had to run through the obstacle course, leap over buildings, and destroy a tower. The last step was to practice using their web-slinging skills to take down some of the notorious "Book Bandits."

After they completed their training, they each got to customize their own masks.

Our heroes passed with flying colors, and were very excited to go through the test again and again.

This program was really easy to put together. You can make an obstacle course out of anything if you put your mind to it. The "web" was silly string, and the masks were just made with patterns found on the web. They did take a bit of time to cut out though, because eye holes are hard to get at with scissors. So be prepared for that.

As for books, we just pulled anything that had to do with comics or superheros. We were really using this as a chance to promote our graphic novel section, because it's relatively new and growing very quickly.

Lots of fun for all involved and relatively stress-free, this program is defiantly one we'll be repeating.